There are many, many uses for articles, but regardless of its final purpose, be it a sales letter, an instructional piece, a blog post or maybe a feature story they all share some common characteristics that should be adhered to. These include the tone, understanding of the subject, grammar and engagement and your own individual uniqueness.
Write on topic for the reader.
From your headline and introduction your reader has already gotten some expectations for the article and wants those expectations fulfilled. Many writers seem to forget the fundamental thing that they are in fact writing for the readers and not for themselves. The readers are investing their time into reading the article and they want to be rewarded with an interesting informative article on the subject that they are expecting.
Making it readable.
The reader wants conciseness now, so keep it short, they are not looking for flowery prose or evidence of how many big words the writer knows. They want the information that they are looking for laid out simply and easily in front of them so they can digest with ease. Short clear sentences and small paragraphs as there is nothing more off-putting than large blocks of waffling text.
Show what you know.
Do a little research so you know a bit about the subject. As a writer your reputation will be more and more important to you and if your readers think you are an idiot then no one will want to read what you have to say. So spend a little time in understanding what it is you are passing on to the reader. I'm not saying that if you want to write a specific subject you need to go get a degree but it doesn't take long to skim read a few articles on the same or similar subject. In doing so it may even ignite some creative spark and throw up so more article ideas for you. Win-win situation.
Be aware of your formatting.
Make sure the writing is well spaced out, lots of white space is the in thing at the moment. Don't use wild crazy fonts and messed up colours, just keep it nice, plain and simple. No one wants to have to battle through the prettiness just to get the point. Be aware as well of your spelling and grammar as it speaks volumes about you as a writer. The reader just wants the information simply and cleanly sliding into their brain with the least amount of effort, so don't go sticking obstacles in the way.
Be unique.
If the reader can get what they want anywhere then they will go anywhere to get it. The way to build regular consistent readers is to be unique and be yourself. Let the reader enjoy your style and then you will become their go to person when they want their information. We as humans enjoy the comfort of what and who we know. So remember to nurture the relationship and make them want to keep coming back to you and you alone. Don't just dish out a weak rehash of someone else's work, inject some of your personality and make it shine, and keep your readers coming back for more.
I know it's not rocket science but occasionally we need to remind ourselves what the purpose of our writing is. My purpose is for my writing is to be read, and the people reading it are the readers. So remember them at all times, and at every stage of your writing process.
Derrick King is an Author and writer for many websites,he enjoys receiving all types off feedback good or bad as he knows then which direction to go.
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